Art Support

Art support is any surface that can be painted on. There are a wide variety of surface to choose from paper, panels, boards, wood, canvas, glass, ceramic, plastic and what not!

Of all the medium available my favorites are oil and water-mixable oil. The requirement in oil painting is that the surface does not have a higher fat content than the paint itself. Canvas panel, boards, masonite, seasoned wood, properly primed paper can also be used, however, the canvas is the most commonly used surface due to its lightness, stability, and elasticity.

The quality of canvas depends on the fiber content, weaves, weight, and density. The fiber can be natural,(such as linen, cotton, hemp, jute, sackcloth) synthetic ( such as nylon, and polyester) or a combination of both. Linen is the best among them for its high quality, stability and great resistance to climatic variation. Cotton is the second best and highly elastic.

The weave makes the variation in the texture of the canvas. The fine weave is an ideal surface for portrait painting or for subjects that require a delicate finish. Medium weave provides a good surface for landscapes, still life, or abstract paintings. Coarse weave canvas offers great dimensional stability and the surface itself adds an interesting element to a painting.

Depending on the weight and thickness of the canvas, artists choose them for a different use. Lightweight is the ideal choice for fine detailed painting. Medium weight is the most common as it suits almost all kind of work. Heavyweight is extremely strong and durable, thus used for firm brushwork and palette knife painting.

Priming

All surface need to be protected from direct contact with paint to prevent the oil from spoiling them, hence a solid neutral layer of substances like oil gesso, acrylic gesso or a compound containing rabbit skin glue is applied to a painting surface in order to prevent it from absorbing the paint. Unprimed surface will absorb oil from the paint, thus reduces the brightness of the colors and the consistency of the paint.

Each primer has different property and produces a different finish. A major difference can be drawn between oil primed and acrylic primed. While oil primed is specially made for oil painting, acrylic primed can be used for both oil and acrylic painting. Remember the rule, “Fat over lean”. Oil primed canvas is expensive than acrylic primed one.

Hope that the information provided here will be helpful to choose the right canvas for the kind of work you intend to paint.